nasa:New results from our Juno mission suggest the planet is home to “shallow lightning.” An unexpec
nasa:New results from our Juno mission suggest the planet is home to “shallow lightning.” An unexpected form of electrical discharge, shallow lightning comes from a unique ammonia-water solution. It was previously thought that lightning on Jupiter was similar to Earth, forming only in thunderstorms where water exists in all its phases – ice, liquid, and gas. But flashes observed at altitudes too cold for pure liquid water to exist told a different story. This illustration uses data obtained by the mission to show what these high-altitude electrical storms look like. Understanding the inner workings of Jupiter allows us to develop theories about atmospheres on other planets and exoplanets! Illustration Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstädt/Heidi N. Becker/Koji KuramuraMake sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com -- source link